Losing Weight

[teaboy]

However you want to dress it up this week the whole point of fad diets it to reduce the intake of calories overall. This is exactly the same as simply eating a bit less.

Calories out > calories in = weight loss over time.

If you call this 'Atkins', 'Dukan', '5-2' or 'cabbage soup' the principle remains the same.

Eat less, move more - lose weight.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I'm thinking about the 5:2 diet as it's being recommended by the NHS quite regularkly now.
For those of you doing it, what do you eat on the 2 fasting days and how do you combat the inevitable hunger pains?

I don't eat anything, I just take on plenty of water, use chewing gum, and occasionally black tea or coffee.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Lift heavy weights + consume lots of lean protein.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

I think I should pop some advice in from experience. In the past for 4 years I have shed 6 stone and currently sit in the middle of 'ideal' weight.

How easy it is depends on psychology. People can advise all sorts of different methods, and some work for some, not for others.

My approach was simple, you need to expend more energy than you take in.

The way I did it, and it may not suit all, was to keep daily/weekly/ monthly charts of calories in against what was naturally needed. I kept exercise charts too. I made a game of it.

It worked.

There will be set backs, but you have to be very forgiving of yourself. Don't set your goals too high, they will be dashed.

Most of all MAKE IT FUN, losing weight can be very enjoyable and rewarding.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Coming late into this, but I lost 2 stone doing the Weightwatchers plan, and a bit of Pilates now and again.

Didn't find it hard at all, quite liked the structure of it. Did it by the mobile app, not by the humiliating meetings!!

 

[Mellotron]

Started using the My Fitness Pal app - think its really gonna help and am determined to stick to it.

I would suggest you set specific goals with set time frames, this helped me massively in the past with losing 3 stone over about 6/7 months.

 

[Adders1]

Don't worry about BMI it's an outdated measurement. I lost weight by giving up meat altogether, replaced bread and pasta with gluten free alteratives , ate a f*ck load of red peppers each week, replaced beer with red wine, took up smoking (wouldn't recommend, highly addictive), and did interval training a couple of times a week.

I'm a fatty, and need to lose weight.

BMI is 28, and trust me none of that is down to muscle.

I want to know your personal experiences in how you lost weight, the best techniques you've come across ect, as I generally have no idea and am a amateur in the subject. (Before a few months back, I hadn't weighed my self in over 2 years).

So yeah, I just need tips basically, cheers.

 

[highway61]

Just finished week one at weightwatchers. referred there by my GP. 12 free sessions and 16 weeks free use of their website e-source. downloaded app etc. lost 8 pound week one. obviously first week is normally a good result but this was double my expectations.

 

[mune ni kamome]

Just joined "myfitnesspal" and asked to lose 1lb per week. Not excessive you might think but I just entered my lunch of 1 banana and 1 apple and its blown my sugar allowance of 24g clean away with 36 grams. Seems rather ridiculous.

 

[StonehamPark]

Just joined "myfitnesspal" and asked to lose 1lb per week. Not excessive you might think but I just entered my lunch of 1 banana and 1 apple and its blown my sugar allowance of 24g clean away with 36 grams. Seems rather ridiculous.

This is probably because cutting out nearly all sugar from your diet makes weight loss MUCH easier.
Don't be fooled by fruits/juices/yoghurts. They're all packed with sugar, even natural ones will do you in.

 

[Mellotron]

Just joined "myfitnesspal" and asked to lose 1lb per week. Not excessive you might think but I just entered my lunch of 1 banana and 1 apple and its blown my sugar allowance of 24g clean away with 36 grams. Seems rather ridiculous.

I do find it useful that the app breaks down not only how much you eat, but of what type of food. I hate Bananas so sadly my Potassium column is at 0. At the end of the day when you hit "Finish My Diary" it comes up with a useful little encouraging message too.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I'm a fatty, and need to lose weight.

BMI is 28, and trust me none of that is down to muscle.

I want to know your personal experiences in how you lost weight, the best techniques you've come across ect, as I generally have no idea and am a amateur in the subject. (Before a few months back, I hadn't weighed my self in over 2 years).

So yeah, I just need tips basically, cheers.

I bought a decent road bike and lost a stone in about 2 months.

Fantastic way to lose the lbs and really take in this beautiful county.

I'm completely obsessed by the sport now. First hour on the bike (or general exercise) you're probably only burning the fuel that you've consumed that day, or in the previous 24 hours. Second hour on the bike your body starts hitting the fat/energy reserves, and that's when you start fat burning.

Something to think about anyway. http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/logout/sport/cycling.htm

You can pick up a rewarding decent road bike for £300 - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-road-bike-white-id_8239800.html

The great thing about cycling is that the more you enjoy it, the more you realise that every gram in weight you carry is extra energy you need to propel the bike, so you naturally start watching your diet a bit more. I don't diet as such, but I am a lot more careful with what I eat. Fruit instead of chocolate, nuts and seeds instead of crisps, bit less meat each week etc.

We've got some NSC cycling caps on the go on the Cycling Geeks thread as well!

 

[Bold Seagull]

I'm thinking about the 5:2 diet as it's being recommended by the NHS quite regularkly now.
For those of you doing it, what do you eat on the 2 fasting days and how do you combat the inevitable hunger pains?

I tried this, but couldn't handle the fasting days. Basically I'm pretty active, playing squash 2/3 times per week, and cycling 50-100miles per week. If a fasting day fell on a sport day, my performance was effected big time.

I'm sure it can work for some people, and it trains you to accept being hungry (or not requiring to be stuffed every meal), but like I said, it buggered with my sporting life.

 

[Mellotron]

I'd like to throw out there to anyone on this thread:

Is there a way to properly enjoy your food and still stay in good shape? I know for me the issue is more what/how much I eat than the amount of exercise I do, as I definitely do more exercise than a lot of slimmer friends of mine.

 

[nwgull]

I tried this, but couldn't handle the fasting days. Basically I'm pretty active, playing squash 2/3 times per week, and cycling 50-100miles per week. If a fasting day fell on a sport day, my performance was effected big time.

I'm sure it can work for some people, and it trains you to accept being hungry (or not requiring to be stuffed every meal), but like I said, it buggered with my sporting life.

I'd recommend eating 5-6 meals a day. I do loads of sport and eating this way makes my energy levels soar, and my concentration and productivity at work are improved as well.

 

[leigull]

Started using the My Fitness Pal app - think its really gonna help and am determined to stick to it.

I would suggest you set specific goals with set time frames, this helped me massively in the past with losing 3 stone over about 6/7 months.

I do find it useful that the app breaks down not only how much you eat, but of what type of food. I hate Bananas so sadly my Potassium column is at 0. At the end of the day when you hit "Finish My Diary" it comes up with a useful little encouraging message too.

I started using Myfitnesspal at the start of the year and it worked really well for me. Found it made such a difference seeing the numbers adding up and what I previously thought was fine to eat, perhaps wasn't so great i.e. lots of fruit. If you are burning the sugar energy off soon after eating it's fine, but otherwise it all adds up.

Have lost 3 stone since January (body fat % down from around 28% to 18% and muscle from 30% up to 39%). Do a good mixture of cardio (playing football once a week and then 5 or 6 spin classes on top of that) and normal gym work, but diet has made the biggest difference I think. I eat next to no processed foods now and make sure I have a decent amount of protein with every meal (around 40%+ of my daily intake on the myfitnesspal app diary), typical day would be:

Brekkie:

Scrambled egg on wholemeal seeded toast
or Fat Free greek yoghurt with blueberries/raspberries

Mid morning:
300g Low fat cottage cheese
Banana

Lunch
Salad with one type of lean meat grilled the night before: chicken, turkey, beef. Or a tin of tuna.
Sweet potato (one sweet potato gives you about 800% of your Vitamin A for the day!)

Dinner
Similar to lunch, salad (lots of spinach) plus a lean high protein meat.
A fat free yoghurt for pudding.

@thebodycoach on twitter is good to follow, he gives good advice about losing weight and what foods to have etc.

Don't drink any coke or lucozade. Just lots of water and tea and then the occasional ale at the weekend.

 

[leigull]

Forgot to add, not interested in any fad diets like the 5:2 one at all, can't see that it's sustainable or good for your body if you exercise regularly and need to fuel your body properly. If you're not exercising and just want to lose some flab then can see how it'd work, but I just can't see how anyone would want to continue that for life. Would rather just eat more each day, but eat well.

 

[Mellotron]

I started using Myfitnesspal at the start of the year and it worked really well for me. Found it made such a difference seeing the numbers adding up and what I previously thought was fine to eat, perhaps wasn't so great i.e. lots of fruit. If you are burning the sugar energy off soon after eating it's fine, but otherwise it all adds up.

Have lost 3 stone since January (body fat % down from around 28% to 18% and muscle from 30% up to 39%). Do a good mixture of cardio (playing football once a week and then 5 or 6 spin classes on top of that) and normal gym work, but diet has made the biggest difference I think. I eat next to no processed foods now and make sure I have a decent amount of protein with every meal (around 40%+ of my daily intake on the myfitnesspal app diary), typical day would be:

Brekkie:

Scrambled egg on wholemeal seeded toast
or Fat Free greek yoghurt with blueberries/raspberries

Mid morning:
300g Low fat cottage cheese
Banana

Lunch
Salad with one type of lean meat grilled the night before: chicken, turkey, beef. Or a tin of tuna.
Sweet potato (one sweet potato gives you about 800% of your Vitamin A for the day!)

Dinner
Similar to lunch, salad (lots of spinach) plus a lean high protein meat.
A fat free yoghurt for pudding.

@thebodycoach on twitter is good to follow, he gives good advice about losing weight and what foods to have etc.

Don't drink any coke or lucozade. Just lots of water and tea and then the occasional ale at the weekend.

Good stuff, thanks for the advice!

 

[Spiros]

14st and 5'11.

Thanks all for tips, shall evaluate and let me you know if it has worked!

I am 5'11" and weighed just over 14st in September last year. Then I started the 5:2 after seeing the Michael Mosley program on Horizon and was down to 13st by Christmas. Now I'm nearer 12st 7" and still losing slowly, but still 5' 11" tall. Over the years I have tried many different diets, exercise regimes, etc - I particularly hate the gym - but this is the only thing I have been able to stick to for any length of time mainly because you only really stick to it for a single day at a time.

 

[Spiros]

I'm thinking about the 5:2 diet as it's being recommended by the NHS quite regularkly now.
For those of you doing it, what do you eat on the 2 fasting days and how do you combat the inevitable hunger pains?

On a fast day it's a small bowl of cereal for brekkie, amount weighed out on scales, no lunch and a weight watchers meal with some veg for dinner. Hunger pains are kept at bay by the odd cup of black coffee, glass of water and a 'lunchtime' cup of tea with skimmed milk. I can have up to 600 cals but seem to get by on the same 500 cals as the wife.